Former Indian cricketer being investigated for match fixing links

India lifted the World Cup in 2011after a gap of 28 years when the MS Dhoni-led Indian side beat Sri Lanka in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While Indians celebrated the win, a few eyebrows were raised. Indeed, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s skipper during their win at the 1996 world cup, demanded an investigation into the match. Shortly after the world witnessed the fall of Aussie cricketers, Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner, things have taken a dark turn for a member of India’s cricket world cup winning squad of 2011. The former cricketer is being investigated for possible links to a match-fixing syndicate.

An Indian Express report claims that the match-fixing incident pertains to the Rajputana Premier League which was held last year and featured club level cricketers. The report mentions that the Rajasthan Police discovered that the kingpins of thesyndicate also financed the RPL. The alleged mastermind also had links with a “former international player who represented India in all three formats of the game”. The RPL was inaugurated with much pomp and show as several celebrities turned up for the event.

Additional DGP CID (Crime) Pankaj Kumar Singh said that his team was following all leads. "We are currently probing links between private entities, those who are part of the cricket fraternity and officials. We will take action if there is evidence that links them to corruption," he said.

The cops gathered info about the former player while interrogating 14 people who were arrested from four hotels in July last year. They were suspected of betting and fixing activities linked to the RPL. The police said that cash, mobile phones, walkie-talkies and laptops were recovered from them, reports The Indian Express.